BELGRADE — A young boy was attacked by a group of masked middle-school boys at a Belgrade park last Friday, an incident witnesses described as brutal and disturbing.
Viewer-submitted video shows the attack as it unfolded near the library and skate park. What began as two boys assaulting the victim quickly escalated, with three and then four juveniles joining in and attacking a single boy.
The video shows punches being thrown, choking, and, eventually kicking.
WATCH - Four middle school students charged with assault:
A witness who intervened told MTN News she rushed in to break up the fight and was shocked by the level of violence.
“This one was particularly egregious in nature,” Belgrade Police Chief Dustin Lensing said.
Lensing said officers responded quickly and conducted a search of the area, locating four juvenile suspects.
“After a quick search of the area, they were able to locate four juvenile individuals, detained them, and ultimately charges of assault were filed,” Lensing said.
The video has since circulated on social media, raising questions about whether online platforms contribute to bullying and violent behavior among youth.
“It adds basically another platform for bullying to occur, so it’s just more enhanced,” Lensing said.
Lensing said the police department works closely with school resource officers when incidents involve juveniles, even if they occur off school grounds.
“So even if something happens off of school grounds but involves a juvenile, that information will get passed along to our SROs to follow up in a school setting later just to make sure there is continuing safety in the schools,” he said.
While the incident has raised concerns in the community, Lensing said violent youth attacks are not becoming more common in Belgrade overall.
“I think as we continue to grow in population size, I think more incidents are going to probably occur more frequently,” he said.
As for what happens next, Lensing said the case will move through the juvenile justice system.
“A youth offense report is generated, it is sent to our local youth probation office here; those cases are handled by the Montana district youth court and then arranged by the county attorney's office and youth probation,” Lensing said.
